On Sunday we took our budding engineer & his long-suffering (but not excessively suffering :-)) big brother up to the Niles Canyon Railway for an afternoon of riding the rails and—in Dad-O’s case—flying over them. In addition to the gallery of photos we snapped (featuring Hen mugging with innumerable old cars), you can check out this little installment of Henry Nack Model Train Central…

Not content (finally!) just to sit & watch YouTube, both of the dudes are becoming rather avid creators. The last few nights have seen the lads filming up a storm with Henry D. & his sister Sadie (stay tuned for that horse-mask-clad craziness 😌), and meanwhile Hen has turned from posting about trains & currency (see previous) to posting from the pool in Cabo. (His mortification at the sound of his own voice reminds me of when I got a tape recorder at age 5 or so from my Aunt Dolores. I told him that we all hate our voices. 🤷‍♂️)

We were rather charmed to find this self-reflective little work amidst G-Man’s recent papers. Thank goodness he warned us in time about those deadly pennies! 😌

“I am creative, kind, patient, funny, friendly. I love trains, history, transportation, currency, owls, pandas, the pool. Different. I feel excited. I wonder what I’ll get for Christmas. I fear zinc pennies, because they can explode cuz they are all somewhat nuclear. I would like to own a real-life train. I’m able to save up a lot of money. I dream to own a real-life train.”

Our flight from Cabo gave me a chance at last to edit some photos & vids from our August trip to Galena. The dudes loved visiting our friend Tom’s farm—driving tractors and scaling silos (file that one under “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again”!). Tom’s brother Jerry was a great host, while Maria & Bert (the Buffalo) were good-natured passengers.

Check out a gallery from the day (including vertiginous 360º shot from atop the silo!) and watch the budding “Uber drivers” in action:

Much as with ziplining, we decided to repeat another Hawaii-October adventure (see previous) & try snorkeling in Cabo. Although Hen somewhat expectedly bailed out rather fast, he was able to draw myriad fish to the rest of us by firing Ritz (with our guide’s blessings! 😌) into the sea. Afterwards he & Finn helped run up the main sail so that we could glide back into the gorgeous harbor.

Being back in Cabo after four years, we thought we'd swing by the beach where we caught some great moments with the dudes back in 2014. Feels like they've changed so much & so little, doesn't it? 😌 (Click for a larger version.)

As we discovered in Hawaii, the dudes have a real penchant for flying through the air while dangling from just a thin metal cable. Therefore while in Cabo we thought we’d try our hand at some aerial mayhem, this time mixing in some rappelling & a “Tarzan swing” just for good measure. Check out the gallery while mentally inserting loud cries of “YOLO!,” “Viva Changuito!,” and “Yo Soy Superman!” 🤪

A couple of weeks ago my teammate Buck’s wedding gave us a perfect excuse to visit South Bend with the whole fam. We got to explore campus (including my old dorm) ahead of the Vanderbilt game; grab lunch at the Morris Inn; and attend Mass on Sunday morning. The guys got some new perspective looking up from under the Golden Dome, and we enjoyed watching the marching band step off en route to the stadium. Check out the little gallery from our days on campus.

Driving back into Galena the night of my birthday, Hen was thrilled to keep the top down on the MZ—but that was nothing compared to his reaction when, from the highway, we heard the rumble of a distant freight train. I immediately turned off the road and made a beeline down the hill, whipping out my phone on the way. Check out our close encounter with the iron horse. 🚂☺️

With Mom-O off working hard in LA, the dudes & I decided to head up the road on Saturday to check out the Good Guys hot rod show. Hen was in heaven, and I’m surprised he didn’t have to ice his thumb after popping it up in front of so many cars. 🙂 Despite the heat & his lack of interest in the subject, Finn was a great sport—encouraged a bit by the strategic application of a root beer float. Following the show we pulled the Westy into the adjacent RV campground where a lot of the ‘rodders & their rides were spending the night.

Antiques-loving Hen spent all summer vibrating with anticipation of visiting Antique Archaeology in LeClaire, Iowa, not too far from Galena. It’s run by Mike & Frank of American Pickers—his favorite show, and beforehand he read Kid Pickers—a birthday gift from Grandma Nack, written by Mike & Galenian Lily Sprengelmeyer.

When our trip finally arrived, we zoomed up from Springfield, then across the river to the shop. Hen was thrilled not only to find a great piece—the taillight (?) from a 1958 Buick, but to bargain with Mike’s childhood friend and shake on a great deal! Given that it was found in Illinois, we like to think that the Buick might’ve been sold by Great Grandpa Liggett, or possibly to Great Grandpa Nack. 🙂

Afterwards we stopped off for some German food while Hen picked some old railroad shrapnel near a thrillingly active train line. Check out the gallery here.

Much as we’ve done in 2014 (gallery) and last year (gallery), on this trip to Big G we had a blast visiting our cousins Tom & Sarah Nack’s pond.

As we approached this year, I found myself eyeing my rearview mirror thinking, “Huh, I didn’t know that Galena Trolleys came out this far…” Well, they don’t except when Uncle Ted is behind the wheel! He was in the process of dropping off Ruby following Jenna’s birthday party, so our arrival was followed by a bus full of tired but happy 7-year-old girls. 🙂

Finn & Gus did some amazing synchronized jumping; Hen revolutionized his kayaking game; the dudes fed catfish bread with the occasional side of toe (!); and Hen & Ruby constructed some superb earthworks before getting wild with the hose. Check out the gallery plus a short video below:

Ah, nothing like a glorious Sunday morning in Big G. to accidentally terrorize my mom with my drone. 😬🚁😌 Here’s a quick shot (music courtesy of Wagner) of the device approaching the house (“It looks like a giant insect!” she said before shutting the door), plus a nice little overhead image. Stay tuned for more soon!

We had a ball (as usual) dropping in on our friends Matthias & Samantha at their newly expanded farm this past Saturday. Highlights included milking the new goat, meeting the bulls, riding on the four wheeler, and checking out “Henry’s” tractors (abandoned farm equipment that Hen now officially “owns" but thankfully can’t move back to our place!).

Check out this vid from the day, featuring the Rawhide performance from one of the boys' favorite movies, Blues Brothers:

These days (evenings, specifically) G-Man is fond of asking that we grab our bikes, hit the streets, and head out for some quality trainspotting. His friend Damien, whose grandma's backyard abuts the tracks, has suggested that she build a rooftop deck just so that Hen can come over & watch the iron horses go by. 😌 Last night we took my drone with us & were rewarded with a great moment!

From a bit earlier, here's an unplanned abstract shot of Mini-Me & Me awaiting the train:

And ultimately we were rewarded with a wave from the Caltrain engineer:

Henry’s little sensors are running full blast these days to detect every bit of vintage ephemera, from bottle caps to old cars. Yesterday he took Finn & me on a bike journey to inspect a neighborhood find—a beautiful old 40’s Chevy. Now he’s all over me to buy it: “Dad, it’s only twenty grand!!” Heh—I can’t blame him for trying. For now the ride will live in his mind—and in this little gallery of pics.